4.0 Staff Survey: Pandemic Style

As I sit at home for the 493rd day, I’m beginning to wonder what my 4.0 coworkers are up to. Yes, we opened the winery on Friday to quick tastes and bottle sales only, but we’re keeping the number of staff to a minimum for safety reasons. And some of the staff is waiting a bit longer to come back to work. An abundance of caution is not a bad thing during these strange times, but still, it means that “our work family” has not been together for a really, really long time.

Are my coworkers walking as much as I am to pass the time and to try to balance out all the eating and drinking? Have they tackled projects like replanting gardens and making yard games and creating a lighted, iron piece of found art…and mowing the lawn 100 times? Are they catching up with family and friends with whom they haven’t spoken in while? Are they cajoling a student still in school to “just get off the phone and do something, anything, that isn’t watching a TikTok”?

Well, let’s find out…

I always like to find out what people are eating, and I figured that, like me, my coworkers might have spent some of the past many weeks trying new recipes. Here’s a sampling of what we’ve been cooking up and enjoying:

• An excellent asparagus soup that pairs well with a Roussanne
• Pan-seared halibut in white wine tomato basil sauce
• Stuffed peppers (mentioned by a few coworkers…may have to join in this trend)
• Marinated chicken thighs in soy sauce and Season-All salt, joined by okra and macaroni and cheese
• Pizza on the grill (thank goodness the weather has been cooperating!)
• Steaks on the grill (so, really, anything on the grill)
• Homemade jalapeno/cheddar cheese bread (the recipe was shared…but I really just want a loaf of the bread)
• Honey-glazed salmon with roasted broccoli and wild rice
• Cajun chicken alfredo

Ok. Enough about food. I’m betting we’re all going to be on diets at some point in the next few months. So, anybody learning new skills during quarantine?

• Auto detailing
• Working on my family tree
• Gardening (this garnered a couple mentions)
• Haircutting!
• Homeschooling (WAY overrated if you’re not actually a teacher)
• Relaxing (I’ve gotten good at this, too)
• NO (mentioned a few times…gotta’ love a truly honest answer)

So, like me, some of my coworkers have used this time to not actually get better at very much. Good to know. Makes me feel better.

But what about TV viewing? With so many shows to choose from, what has everyone been watching? My family decided to venture into film festival territory with a focus on Hitchcock movies. My coworkers?

• River Monsters (LOL)
• Breaking Bad
• Ozark (OMG, the last two minutes of the 3rd season!!)
• Better Call Saul
• West Wing
• Schitt’s Creek (a definite YES!)
• Naked and Afraid (this has GOT to make you feel better about being quarantined in your home)
• Tiger King (again, if you need to feel better about yourself and your situation…)
• Mad Money

Clearly, our TV viewing is taking us into some dark and funny places. But here are my favorite responses related to what my coworkers have been watching:

• My weight escalate (yep, I feel ya’)
• Is Facebook considered watching something?

Of course, in between all the projects and shows and eating (or along with all of these), there has been wine. Lots of wine. The nice weather seems to have brought out the rosé drinkers in many of us…the McPherson Les Copains Rosé has many fans on our staff. Though a few of us have enjoyed some white wines, most of us seem to be sticking to reds: Lost Oak’s Crimson Oak, Brennan’s Cabernet Savignon, and the 4.0 Merlot are popular right now. But the best response to what we’re drinking these days? “Portejas…but mostly White Claw.” Perfect!

Stay safe out there, everyone!